Ashdown MAG-300H Head

Well covered before. Wish it was the normal 19" rackspace size though. The EQ is nice and basic. Push buttons are handy too for some quick tone-shaping.

Vintage basses, Jazz's and P's. Rock to alt-country. I guess the way to describe this is that it's better than it should sound for the money. Where was a head of this sound quality for this kind of bread 20 years ago?

Solid, round, and warm. It's not an Eden, and it's not an SVT, and you shouldn't expect it to be. I got mine for the price of a pedal and it serves as a stellar backup and practice rig. I loan it out to friends and it chugs along famously.

This one has taken a beatin' and still runs like a champ. I was getting a popping noise and turns out it was a bad cord not the amp's fault.

N/A

I'm an Eden guy with a couple of SVT's. Saw this on CL for $145 and snapped it up. The guy even brought it over. It's been a reliable, decent-sounding workhorse that keeps the mileage off the better gear. Wonderful price, nice piece of gear.

Not sure what year, but it is the most recent model. I play hardcore, but have also used this amp for hip hop, rock, pop, lots of others, and with a bit of fiddling with the settings, it is pretty versitile. It comes with the sub harmoniser thing, which really doesn't do much, if you're buying the amp purely because of that, keep looking, or buy a pedal, because it really doesn't make that much difference.
As for power, it's 307 watts i believe. I have a peavey milestone 3 bass (which is pretty ordinary) going into an mxr bass d.i. and a boss tuning pedal into the amp matched with the mag 410 cab. It's easily loud enough for mediums size gigs, and can easily hold it's own at gigs without p.a's BUT this is with the mxr pedal, it tends to struggle a bit with out it.
The Controls are very simple to understand, and it has the knob eq, not the other type (which i hate). The knobs are easy to turn, and because the casing bit comes out the front past the knobs, you have little chance of snapping a knob off (like i did on my old amp)
It also has the measure to show the input level, which i sometimes find goes into the red which i worry about, but it still works well.

Like i said before, i'm using it with a terrible peavey milstone 3 bass, only because it's light and easy to throw around, and surprisingly, this amp can make this bass sound pretty damn good. Primarily i play screamo/hardcore, and it goes well for this sort of music, getting a really good treble sound out of the amp. However, as i mentioned before, a lot of the good sound from this amp, comes when i have my mxr pedal running into it. Without it i have found that the amp sometimes struggles and the sound sounds like it needs a bit more balls behind it. with the pedal, it sounds so good though.

I've had the amp about a month now, and i've already played about 12 shows with it. It has been very reliable, not a stuff up yet. Especially as it's been in the back of a trailer with a nut of a driver, so i'm assuming it's been bouncing about a bit. It's easy as to set up, and runs smoothly without cutting out and faultering.

Haven't had to deal with them, hopefully won't have to. Comes with a 1 Year warranty. would've prefered a longer warranty, so i'll give them a 7.

I've been playing bass almost all the way through high school, so about 5 years. Before this, i was using a randall 410 combo amp, which was the heaviest, worst sounding, ugliest thing i've ever used. Once i snapped the volume knob off that, i decided instead of fixing it, i should look into a new amp. As i am still in school, i haven't got much money, so ashdown was looking like the best option, as i don't like behringer or hartke amps. I would've got something rackmountable, but i already have my d.i. pedal which is like a preamp, and a floor tuner, so i really don't need a rackmountable amp.
If it were stolen, i'd either get the same model again, or one of ashdown's higher amps, i like them, they sound good, look cool, and they're SIMPLE! None of this thousand knobs for things you don't need, they have what you need, and what you get, is simple to use.
I compared it to the behringers mainly, because they're the cheapest, and i just don't like behringers, ashdown has a more sophisticated sound, and look (i judge a lot on the look of your amp, cos you gotta look cool while you play it hahaha) and i didn't like the hartkes cos they don't have the casing around them, and they have the 7/10 band eq's which i can't stand, because you spend about an hour getting your settings right each gig.
I'd recommend this to anyone who's looking to buy their first head to match with a cab. It's loud enough for medium gigs with/without p.a. I'll probably add another cab onto it later on, but i don't even think this needs another massive cab, i'll probably only add on a 210.
All in all, it's the first time in the 5 years i've been playing, that i've been happy with how my playing sounds. and that's saying something!

It's the 2007 model. Crafted in China.

I play punk-rock, HxC, oi!, ska, reggae, soul... And it always sounds very well.

180W/8ohms (mag 410 cabinet), but 307W/4ohms with an additional cabinet! I've never tried because the 180W are really enough to play with a drummer and two guitarists (and their half stacks).

I use a Fender P-Bass. The best thing with this amp is that you can produce a tube sound for only 579 euros (head + cabinet)!

It's not a real tube sound of course, because there's no tube inside. But it seems.

In my opinion it sounds better than an Hartke 3500 or a Berhinger 4500.

I've been playing on it during 6 monthes. No problem.

If I was richer, I would like to buy an ABM amp. Maybe Ashdown delivers the sound I like.

good amp 307 watts @ 4 ohms
but also very loud with a 8 ohm cab

best amp i ever played (below 1000$)

sounds clear and nice with e bass and upright

great giging thing

i bought it 2 days ago and it sounds so awsome

the di out is also a good thing.

i get a 4 ohm cab because i play upright and do not have a good pre amp.

if you play ebass you wont need more than the ashdown 2x10 8 ohm cab. even for small bars/pubs.....

thanks to the di you do have the di i out for big venues with pa !

that thing ROCKS ! get it ! theres nothing combareable in this pricerange

Sorry for my english, but i'm Italian!
For the money I've lost.... it works!!!
Seriously, it has a good response, the first thing I noticed was the "sub-harmonics" button and switcher. And I use it!!!
I always thought that minimum eq is the best to take out the real bass sound (so, no GRAPHIC EQ!!!)

I play in a punk-rock band so the sound hasnt'got to be very precise.
I've got a YAMAHA RBX 775 and with it sounds so punchier and immediate!
It sounds a bit "growling" if it's put in a very small place! Once I had to play in a Club and the evening became a "bass noise full immersion"!

til this moment no problem

never had any contact with ashdown
Warranty: 2 Years

As I said it's a really enjoying amp!
It's a good mate if you're a rocker but you don't necessary need a POWERFUL-PRECISE-ULTRAMODERN amp & cab.
Played with a FENDER PRECISION BASS and a YAMAHA RBX 375(cheaper version of RBX 775) too: No failures, it works hard and ROCKS!

A verstile bass amp that has good design concept. Apparently delivers 307W into 4ohms and certainly appears to deliver the goods. Two i/p's, one for passive with a sensible input impedance above 3Mohms and a lower impedance and lower gain input for passive/higher level signals. The input volume control sensibly adjusts the gain down to zero and appears to be applied before any amplification. The Five tone controls interact quite nicely giving good abilty for shaping the sound. Ultrabass feature is *OK* ish, the lower octaves sounding like pulses added to the sound, the octave down sound produced sounds more like pulses in general rather than a real pure tone. Bass and treble boost buttons, the bright button also appears to add some bottom end too, a bonus...

It's very good but I sometimes think it lacks absolute *balls* but I'm not complaining. Maybe the power supply needs beefing up? No funny noises and a quiet pre-amp, not too bad even with EVERYTHING up full. Has good clarity, the tone controls allows considerable EQ for most things along with the deep and bright buttons for extreme settings. This amp does seem to have some character of it's own in a rounded kind of way.
I tried the amp through some high qualtiy speakers and CD material and it gave very nice results (in mono) and really quite hi-fi.. Must tell us something?

It's still working, can't comment. It's a big box with very little inside.

They have always been helpful.

It does what it's supposed to do and it's a sensible price.
I would replace it if it were stolen or lost. Ashdown seem to have done their homework with their gear in general and produce a satisfying product for the money.

Nearly all the features that you need are there. The subharmonics filter is worth mentioning. What I sorely miss is a graphic EQ..

Sounds great! very clear and crisp sound, truly responsive. It runs into an Ashdown ABM 410 cabinet (what else?), and the two are a great couple.
I play a 12-string bass as well as 4-string, and the 12-string never sounded so good!

Bought it in december 2005, still working flawlessly. Several gigs and practice sessions since then, so no problems there.

did not need them yet, nor do I want to :)

Been playing for nearly 30 years now, started out in punk. Have used Peavey and Hughes & Kettner amps, until I discovered Smirnoff, ah, Ashdown :)
If some bastard with good taste relieves me of it by stealing it, I would run to the store and replace it; however, if I have some more cash I might get an Ashdown ABM head instead.
Love: all of it. Hate: nothing.

Keep it simple stupid suits me fine.
Sounds great into 2- 8 ohm Mag 4x10 cabs = 4 ohm total.
Well made. Not many features. Very nice voiceing!
Has held up great gets played out and full time in my studio.
Cool logo and blue speakers make it a looker, actually get comments.

G&L basses work well. Nice voiceing.
Quite punchy and clear.
Suits rock to whatever.
Fan noise not a issue at all,
I might be worried if I didn't hear it.

So Far AOK.
Is well made.

Great head for the money!
So are the mag cabs.!
Plug and play, no frills,
powerfull, easily handles large gigs +
I would buy again..

5 band EQ, high / low inputs, VU meter for gain setting, low and high boosts, sub harmoniser etc.. Single channel on 300H. none of the features are footswitchable on this model. No too many features on this amp, which is fair enough considering the money (#250 sterling) and to be honest, if you can't get at least a half-way decent bass sound out of this then change your bass.

I play a variety of basses 5/4 string fretted and fretless and in a live situation this amp has just about all the tones you could need. Played one gig with mine (wedding do) so material was anywhere from jazz to pop/rock to funk and I was impressed with the responsiveness of the amp. Fan is a little noisy though, OK for live work but in the studio I'd recommend the D.I. out (clean as a whistle) as opposed to mic'ing your cabinet (unless it was far enough away from the microphone).

I had this amp for 11 days (which equates to two studio recordings and one gig) and the buttons started falling apart, which was a shame as up to this point the amp had done everything I wanted it to. The EQ button snapped on the model I had - leaving one half inside the amp to rattle nicely. I realise that this is only a budget head, but I really expected more from a company like ashdown. Returned it to the shop shortly afterwards. Don't get me wrong, the amp is reliable and was still fully functional, but I began to ask some serious questions concerning the build quality, hence the 5

Not dealt with customer support.

I've been playing for nearly 15 years and am a busy bunny when it comes to gigs / sessions etc... so have played through literally tons of different rigs, this one wasn't bad; actually it was quite pleasing for the money (straight-forward layout and not overly complicated) and the overall sound of the amp was slightly wooly (an OK wooly, not the Ampeg kind) but with enough cut for slapping/harmonics etc... but I had issues about it being held together with Christmas cake. Wouldn't buy another (didn't even keep it) purely on this point alone.

I've had this amp for a few months now, bought it new. I usually just run it flat and adjust tone on my bass (Conklin GT7-BD). Many features listed above, so I won't repeat.

It's noisy. Too noisy. It's an amp, so it's fine for my purposes - I run it into a Aguilar GS112, and play jazz / flamenco music in a trio setting. I had assumed that even the lower end Asdown line would still be decent quality, but the noise is really a bother. As an example, I've got a Boss ME-50b multi effects. If I have it plugged into the amp and the amp plugged into the wall, then even when listening to headphones plugged into the Boss unit, I get noise - even when the amp is *TURNED OFF*. If I unplug the amp, there's no noise. And there's both a high-freq buzzing coming through the tweeter and a lower-freq noise.

Bottom line - the tone is fine, but the signal to noise is not good, because the noise is too high.

No problems.

I've been playing for 26 years. I wouldn't buy it again, and I'd even hesitate to buy their high-end equipment at this point. I bought this in part because the ratings on this site were favorable, I trusted the name Ashdown, and the price was right. I figured I owed to to others considering this item to bring up the noise problem.

Ashdown MAG-300H head

5 Band EQ
Passive / Active Instrument Inputs
"Deep" Switch
"Bright" Switch
EQ on/off Switch
Sub Harmonics on/off switch
VU input level dial
Input Control (Gain)
Output Control (Volume)

The range of features on this baby is fantastic, everything incredibly practical and allows for a huge amount of tone refinement. The best feature easily is the ability to turn the EQ on and off which can give you a huge range of tones (I always have it on however). The sub harmonics mode makes it play the same note an octave lower at the same time to make the tone beefy, its a subtle effect but does a decent job. I give it a nine because the instruction manual is a little technical (had to ask on a forum what input and output actually did).

As said before, this amp can give you a huge range of tones. It has a nice warm tone which is great for basses which are too punchy (perfect partner for a yamaha). I can get great punch as well as huge bottom end when playing through my 2x10 MAG cab and the Deep and Bright switches allow nice boosts to bass and treble when activated. There is absolutely nothing to fault with it tone wise.
One more thing to remind you, hooked up to a cab, this thing is LOUD!

So far the Head has remained strong however the cab I was using had a broken tweeter when it arrived (completely snapped off) but that has nothing to do with the head. The shop I bought it from remained incredibly helpful however.

Never dealt with ashdown.

I play through a Yamaha TRB6II and what was once an wonderful sounding bass has been improved by the amp, the tones it can produce are wonderful and for a busy player of three bands gigging often this amp allows me to be heard without straining the equipment. if it was stolen I would be very upset indeed. It gets a 9 overall due the irritation in having the cab arrive with the tweeter completely broken. (again, nothing to do with the head)

2004 Ashdown Mag300 Head. This amp is pretty simple, five band eq that isn't very effective, some little tone switches ("bright") that don't seem to do a whole lot either. A cool little VU meter that's pretty useless but looks kinda cool i guess. There's a gimicky octave effect that i've only messed around with a little bit but doesn't seem all that useful either (who the hell plays bass solos anyway...) This amp has one great feature though, and thats that it is simple, cheap and loud.

Tone is rock all the way. I use a fender jazz bass and a fender 4x10 cab i got for $250 which works out pretty well for regular gigging. It's loud enough, you won't need more power until your band gets pretty far into 'earplug' territory. The sound i would describe as a good modern rock tone. Lots of tight growl and punch, good for classic rock on down to metal.
I don't really dig on that jaco crap, i don't slap and pop and i don't just pick out eigth notes, so if thats what you're looking for i can't really help you.

I've only owned for about 9 months or so now, but i've gigged with it regularly at 100-2000 people shows and it handles it well. The case seems to be built pretty well with very thick carpeting. The case also extends about an inch from the front panel, which will help protect the knobs and that little meter thing.

never talked to ashdown

I've been playing for about 9 years. I own a fender geddy lee jazz (seriously i hate rush, but thats just a great instrument) and as i said above i use a fender bassman cab i got on the cheap. I bought this amp to be able to play loud and thats what it does. I don't really fuss too much over bass tone (cause its bass people.. im not roger waters) but it sounds pretty good. If you gig with it, other bass players might think less of you for not owning some giant ampeg rig that cost you 4x as much.. but f them. If you wanna rock, this will allow you to rock.. and rock hard.

All I can about the features is that I don't have to second guess this amp. Everything is simple to uses. I brought this amps for a backup amp and now I use it as my main amp because when I have to setup up in a hurry it's a breeze. This amp was made in 2oo3. I played this head though two Eden 2/10 cabs and what a sweet sound in my church. Never used it on any gigs out side of church.

I use a Warmoth Bass with this head, also a Carvin XB75 bass both sounds good.If you play Gospel It's a dream. I do have one problem and that with the Main Volume Control It make a scatchly nosie when turning Up or down.I don't play very loud so I can't say what is can do, but a low setting it's what I looking for.

I had no problem so far. This amp seem like it can handle anything so no backup is needed for me.

Never has to use them.

I'm playing about 35 years. I own a PB200 Carvin Bass rig (small gigs), Swr350 head with two Eden 2/10 cabs (Med - Large).One Harkte 4/10 VX. One Warmoth Bass 5 strings, Tobias 4 strings, Fender Jazz Bass 4 strings. I miss placed I would buy again. Love the sound but not the size (to wide, would get the 300r..

See the above reviews.

This amp head has a very warm sound. You can't very the tone much owing to the sparse nature of the EQ, but that suits me fine as I'm not a fan or ultra fine-tuning. The sub-harmonizer is at best a joke. Even if the bloody thing worked effectively nobody in their right mind would have any cause to use it, surely? It seems slightly weird that on a 'budget' amp they would bother installing such a feature and not go for, say, and extra EQ band instead.

No problems so far. Has been used for numerous gigs without backup.

Not dealt with the company. I'm sure they're very helpful though.

Upon receiving this amp I was gutted to see how cheaply put together it is. It just does not feel like a quality product.

Don't get me wrong, I bought the amp because it was cheap and did not have any extraneous features (bar the sub-harmonizer). It has fulfilled the role of a cheap, reliable amp but only just. Everything about it is simply 'fine'. If I had shopped round more I think I would have found something which scored a few 'goods' here and there.

I would not buy one of these again. It seems like for the same money a 400 watt Hartke would have been a better purchase, or even a Laney.

When I bought it, it served one purpose: it made noise. It doesn't have a whole lot of features. You can't switch channels like you can with the higher end ashdown bass heads. Cranking it through an ashdown mag 410, i have to turn it up well over half way to get it loud enough (with the EQ and tone turned on and up, I should add). You can't shape the sound much, but I suppose a preamp would fix that - its 5 EQ knobs are hard to get to where the sound is what you are looking for. It's growly roar is generally all I can get out of it. The subharmonics sound alright.

Rawr. It growls. Perfect for rock, but not if you are recording rock because it isn't incredibly versatile. If you are looking for an amp that screams at you when you hit a note, this will not only scream at you, but give you digestive problems from all the shaking if you leave it on too long. Keep in mind I play through it with a PASSIVE low end fender precision. The higher you turn the volume, the scarier the sound gets, and it definately has enough power for a 115 and a 410 cab combined. Very good for live performances.

It's a tank. The carpeting is beef. The electronics seem relatively simple, so nothing has ever become disconnected or anything like that. You don't need a road case for it because it's very well protected. Carrying a backup would be a waste of time, because this one is pretty reliable. I imagine it could blow out if you run it too loud though, but I haven't had that problem in my band playing in auditorium-size venues. After a couple years of harsh treatment I'm sure a fuse would blow eventually.

Didn't have any problems, so I don't know.

I wouldn't buy another if I lost it, I'd probably buy something higher end. Cheap amp heads bug me. However, because of the price, power, and general sound, it is a very good value and worth every penny. I reccomend it for an intermediate player (stadiums are out of the question, sorry) on a budget. BUT, don't buy it with the Ashdown MAG cabs, because they suck. Get something nicer. A yorkville or peavey cab would match it well.

2003 or 2004, i just bought it brand new. This amp is quite versatile and does what i need for the music i play. I play funk, classic rock, and most stuff requiring a pure clean tone. This amp does not have a drive feature, which some people who play nu-metal or whatnot might have a problem with, but in all honesty if you want good distortion or overdrive, get a pedal. This amp has an effects loop, but no headphone jack, which i perhaps would like, but it is no big deal. The sub harmonics feature on this amp is good for soloing and playing stuff in the higher registers; it makes it sound a lot more full. It is not needed for the lower notes though. I use this amp in my basement with my amateur funk alternative band and it is loud enough (by far) for that purpose,as well as any small or medium sized gigs/venues.

Currently my main bass that i play it with is a Godin SD with Bartolini p/j passive pickups that i put in. I plan on buying a Spector Euro 4 neckthrough perhaps in the future. With the Godin, this amp has a great tone. I play it through an Avatar B212 4 ohm cab. (If you dont know avatar, check out the reviews at this site. If you live in the US, there is no better cab for the money. Incredible quality and sound.) The tone from this combination is reminiscent of a vintage Ampeg tone, with a little more bite mid punch. Very warm highs and lows come out of this though. It is basically impossible to get this amp to distort, which is awesome. YOu dont constantly have to be worried about whether or not your input signal is too strong.

I can definitely depend on this amp. I would gig without backup, definitely. This amp hasnt broken down but i havent had it long, but i dont expect it to.

I ordered the amp through Avatar Speakers so i have not dealt with Ashdown.

I have been playing for a few years. My main bass is my Godin SD. If this amp were stolen or lost, i would definitely buy it again, as i feel there is no amp in the price range that is as good as this. I love basically everything about this amp, even the vintage cosmetic styling. I compared it to several other products including Gallien Krueger, Ampeg and Hartke. The others were no contest. The ampeg sounded about as good but was way more expensive, and i felt it didnt have enough precision to the tone. This is a great amp and i highly recommend it.

I just purchased this head new so I think it was made sometime this year because I cant find a date on it. It is 307 watts RMS at 4-Ohms and has most of the same features as most other amps. One thing that I think this amp needs is some more inputs and outputs on the back side if the amp so there isn't so many cables in the front of the amp. Some of the things I do love about this amp is the front panel push switches for Bright and Deep settings and the sub-harmonic generator with a push switch for on/off and a rotary knob to adjust the level of the sub-harmonic generator. It doesn't have a mute switch on it but I use the input level rotary knob and the output Level rotary knob as a mute switch. It works very good for me but dont forget to turn the input and/or output knob back up when you are done. The amp also has an effects loop, tuner out and a balanced DI. Ashdown designed this amp for the busy semi-pro player but thats BS! I think this amp would work for any pro player! Keep up the good work Ashdown.

I have been using a Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass Upgraded to 18 volt active electronics and a Steinberger XP2 bass with a Ampeg SVT-15H Cab. and a Ampeg SVT-210HE Cab. through a Zoom BFX708-II pedal. Man, this head sounds sweet through my equipment! I wish more people could hear my setup to see how good this head works with it all. I can get every type of sound I want with this head. It rocks and that is all I have to say!

I have the Ashdown MAG300H and it comes with the wood case around the amp. The amp itself looks and feels like it was built to last. I dont want to smack it around for no reason but I feel that if I did drop it from the hood of the car or off the top of my cabs, I think it would keep on working like a Timex! (I purchased 4 feet for an Ampeg amp head and screwed them on the bottom of the Ashdown wood case to keep it in place when I play. Works very good.)

I sent a e-mail about a question I had about the amp. When I got to work and checked my e-mail, Ashdown already replied to my question. (First thing the next morning.) I like that service :-)

I have been playing for around 15 years, on and off. I have used many amps and out of almost all of them that I have used I like this one the best. (Just play the amp and you are going to see what I am talking about.) The only other amps I think that are better than this one is the Ampeg Classic and the Ashdown ABM series heads. I wish I had the cash for them!

This is my first working man's bass amp. Its versatile enough to cut any gig with a 5band parametic (i think thats right) EQ. This amp has inputs for active and passive basses, input volume and output volume. Switchable EQ, Bright switch, Deep switch. Has a built in octave effect with amount of effect control. It is completely solid state and has two 1/4" outputs at 4ohms. 307 watts with DI output, effects loop and tuner out.

This amp sounds good for pretty much any style of music, making it very useful for me as i play in lots of different styled groups from rock to jazz fusion to metal to funk to virtuoso. It does the job, but it needs valves/tubes for a bit of extra warmth for a rock situation (EG ABM) With gain up full, u cant overdrive the amp which is gd and bad. The Sub-harmoniser (octave effect) is useless, as its hardly noticable and is crap on the lower notes.

Now, i know that Ashdown, even though good have got a reputation for having dodgy gear. So far, this amp has stayed true to me and I'll be using it till I can afford an ABM 500.

Before purchasing, i e-mailed the customer rep, Mark with questions about the amp and the rest of the ashdown range. He replied within 24hrs each time and ive spoken to him on several occasions. He's a very nice guy, and he knows wat hes talking about.

I was quite dissapointed with this rig because its doesnt sound anywhere near as gd as an ABM and it has relatively little headroom. in a recent rehearsal, the guitarists were on 3>5 with me pushing this head to 9/10. They had a Cornford MK50 and a Fender Deville. a higher band EQ, valves, and more headroom would make this amp g8. But, thats wat an ABM does, so i guess that unless u can get an ABM300/500, this is the best option until then. I wouldnt buy again, I'd get an ABM!